Friday, 9 April 2010

New home for Rowntree’s social poverty archivesSeebohm Rowntree published three detailed studies of poverty in York in 1899, 1936 and 1951. He also created a series of slides which he used during a series of lecture tours analysing ‘the cycle of poverty’ at the beginning of the 20th century. He developed theories about the persistence of poverty without social intervention which helped to shape the welfare state between the 1890s and 1950s. The slides were handed over to York University’s Borthwick Institute for Historical Research, yesterday, by Hugh Bayley, Labour MP for York.Martin Wainwright reports in The Guardian.

How and why did the Armenian genocide happen?To mark the 95th anniversary of the beginning of the Armenian genocide this month, a documentary will be shown on Germany's ARD television network today. The documentary entitled ‘Aghet’ (Armenian for ‘Catastrophe’) brings the words of diplomats, engineers and missionaries to life to reveal what motivated the murderers and why Germany and other countries remained silent.Der Spiegelreports.In Rethinking the Armenian Genocide Donald Bloxham considers the complex historical background to the Armenian genocide focusing on the issue of great power involvement.

Incas were brutally murdered by Spanish conquerorsBruce Bower reports in an article published on the website of Wired Science on the results of the latest studies of Inca skeletons discovered in a 500-year-old cemetery in Peru by a team led by anthropologist Melissa Murphy of the University of Wyoming in Laramie. It is believed that the individuals were killed with medieval weapons such as maces, clubs, steel lances or hammers.